Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday as a follow up to massive demonstrations in Miami over the weekend in solidarity with Palestine after a week of intense violence in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
They marched around the intersection at Broward Boulevard and Third Avenue, hoisted signs and Palestinian flags into the air and chanted in front of the federal courthouse. Most signs referenced the children killed in Gaza, the apartheid state, or the U.S. funding and support of Israel, and urged for the freedom of Palestine. The chants said the same.
Local Palestinian, Jewish and secular groups organized the event in Broward County, where there is a larger Palestinian community, said organizer Lily Ostrer with the South Florida chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, a national anti-Zionist organization made up of Jews and non-Jews that organize in defense of Palestinian rights.
“A lot of Palestinians in Jerusalem and Palestine called for protests today, calling it a general strike, to keep up the pressure and keep up the momentum,” she said. “Around the country there are people marching, trying to put pressure on members of Congress to take a stance in support of Palestinians and against apartheid and ethnic cleansing.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 217 Palestinians have been killed, including 63 children, 36 women, and 16 elderly people. About 1,500 were wounded, the ministry said.
Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, have been killed in rocket attacks, according to the Associated Press.
The organizations are calling for people around the world to participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which urges people to boycott goods and companies that profit from the Israeli military and its occupation of Palestinians, according to the movement’s website.
Anas Amireh, president of South Florida’s chapter of the Al-Awda: Palestine Right to Return Coalition, was one of the main organizers of the demonstration on Tuesday.
“The main idea today is to capture the American public’s attention that this is not just a conflict,” he said. “We are talking about 2 million people that have been under siege since 2006, who are not allowed to go in or out by air, sea, or land unless the occupation allows them to.”
Amireh said his group is urging for the U.S., which he said is supposed to be the icon of democracy, to stop supporting Israel’s occupation and to put an end to it once and for all.
“It’s time to stand up and say enough is enough,” he said. “It’s a new world for all minorities, and it’s time to change.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
